The described embodiments generally relate to wireless communication devices and computer networks. More particularly, the described embodiments relate to the collecting usage statistics on a wireless device.
Wireless networking connects one or more wireless devices to other computer devices without a direct electrical connection, such as a copper wire or optical cable. Wireless devices communicate data, typically in the form of packets, across a wireless or partially wireless computer network and open a “data” or “communication” channel on the network such that the device can send and receive data packets. The wireless devices often have wireless device resources, such as programs and hardware components, which individually and cooperatively operate to use and generate data in accordance to their design and specific protocol or configuration, such as using open communication connections to transmit and receive data on the network.
Wireless devices are being manufactured with increased computing capabilities and are becoming tantamount to personal computers. These “smart” wireless devices, such as cellular telephones, have application programming interfaces (“APIs”) installed onto their local computer platform that allow software developers to create software applications that operate on the cellular telephone. The API sits between the wireless device system software and the software application, making the cellular telephone functionality available to the application without requiring the software developer to have the specific cellular telephone system source code.
As the functionality and the bandwidth requirement of wireless devices has grown far beyond the requirements of a cellular telephone, the need to manage the bandwidth, maintenance and service of the wireless network has become critical to maintaining quality of service to the user and to maintain and increase the profitability of the network carrier. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide apparatus and methods for providing consumer usage pattern reports for a wireless device.